


The Unsolved Mystery of Misty Moore

by ecstaticUnicorns



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Identity Issues, Post-Canon, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26032807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ecstaticUnicorns/pseuds/ecstaticUnicorns
Summary: A bit over a year after the events of The Unsleeping City, as Rowan Berry is gearing up for her musical debut, a couple of journalists start investigating the death of Misty Moore, and Rowan has to figure out how to be herself as well as a reincarnation.Or, what if someone made a Buzzfeed Unsolved about Misty Moore?
Relationships: Misty Moore | Rowan Berry & Pete the Plug
Comments: 9
Kudos: 87





	The Unsolved Mystery of Misty Moore

**Author's Note:**

> hey yall this is my first time writing fanfic let alone posting it on ao3 so idk how well the format and everythings gonna work but hey at least im trying new things!  
> anyways i would die for misty/rowan and i have Many Thoughts about them

Rowan Berry is in her bedroom when the interviewers arrive. She hears Alissa making them tea, and waits for a minute before emerging into the living room. She hasn’t gotten many interviews as Rowan yet, so of course she has to be fashionably late. She finally enters and sits down on the couch, clasping her hands together.

“Oh, you two are finally here! I’ve been so excited for this interview. I’m Rowan Berry, of course. And you are?”

There are two of them, a short woman with wavy red hair and a man with dark skin and bleached blond hair. Both of them look young, maybe in their early twenties, and are wearing casual clothes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Berry,” says the redheaded woman, reaching out to shake Rowan’s hand. “My name is Niamh Walker.”

“I’m Felix Solace,” says the man, giving her a small wave instead of shaking hands. Already, the interviewers strike her as much more casual than any interviewers were back in her Misty days - they’re wearing casual street clothes instead of the expected suits - but she attributes this to the fact that she’s _young_ now. Gone are the days of formalities and high society - that’s not what the youth are into! So she reciprocates the wave.

Niamh is looking around the penthouse, decorated in a minimalist style, with pure white walls and a shag white carpet. The furniture is all a few decades old, and the paintings on the walls are all in vintage styles. She hasn’t changed a thing in decades. “I love your decorating style,” Niamh announces, jotting something down on her notepad. Felix rummages for something in his bag.

Rowan takes a cup of tea from Alissa, shooing her out of the room before taking a sip and responding. “Thank you, darling. I’ve been leaning into that vintage style for a bit now. I’d like to think it’s part of my charm,” she says with a wink, leaning forwards to put her cup on the low glass table between them. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you! I was so happy to receive that email from you about the interview, it’s so nice to know that I’m reaching people.”

The interviewers share a look that Rowan can’t quite read. “Right,” Niamh says. “Let’s get this interview started.” Felix pulls his phone out of his bag and opens a recording app, placing the phone on the table. “So, you’re an actress?”

“I am.”

“How’d you get your start in acting?”

Rowan smiles and starts spinning a story about growing up outside of New York City, visiting the city to go to Broadway shows and idolizing the stars, dreaming about becoming one of them. It’s not particularly original - it’s practically the exact same origin she gave Misty Moore and everyone else she’s been - but she knows that that dream of Broadway and fame will get her the attention she’s looking for. Sure enough, glamour starts seeping off of the interviewers, and she starts to get comfortable telling this story of her fictionalized life.

“You mentioned looking up to Broadway stars - was Misty Moore one of them?”

This question should alarm Rowan more than it does, but the glamour feels so nice - she doesn’t get audiences as big anymore, and glamour makes her feel wonderful. It takes her a moment to process the question.

“Misty? Oh, yes, she was simply wonderful, quite an inspiration. Such a talented woman.”

“And how did you come to know her?”

Rowan is skilled at deception, so the interviewers don’t see her choke on her tea. She takes a long sip as she thinks up a reply, the alarm bells in her head starting to sound. “Oh, I met her a few years ago at a party. Quite a nice woman.” She takes another sip.

“A party? What was a young, rising actress like yourself doing at a party with the one and only Misty Moore?” Felix asks, raising an eyebrow. His tone is friendly, but Rowan can sense the accusations behind the question. She’s starting to panic now.

“I was invited by a friend. You know, as much as acting is about talent, it’s also about socializing, and it helps to know the right people. I haven’t been to too many parties like that, but it’s always good to try to attend.”

“And the two of you became close?” Niamh asks.

“Sure! Well, not too close, she was a busy actress, but she was fairly influential in my life.”

“But close enough for her to leave you her house and fortune.”

Rowan takes a long sip, finishing her tea. Her smile feels especially fake and plastered on now. “I wasn’t aware you knew I had inherited her estate.” It takes all of her acting training to make that statement not sound passive aggressive. She has no idea how they found out about that - she’s read a few articles about the death of Misty Moore, and no one’s mentioned Rowan Berry in them. That information is not public knowledge. When will this interview get back to being about her?

The interviewers share another look. Niamh turns to her. “She left you most of her property in her will, correct?”

“Not everything, of course, but yes, I did inherit most of her property, including the penthouse, and quite a bit of money.” The interviewers sit, waiting for her to elaborate. Rowan only sits still for a minute, mind racing to make up an excuse, but she’s trained in improv enough to know how a pause like that sounds. “While we didn’t meet very often, Misty was quite important to me. She became a sort of mentor to me, helping to kickstart my acting career. I suppose that she gave everything to me as one final way to help me along my path.”

“How did you hear of her passing?”

Oh no. Rowan truly has no idea what they know now. Do they know that she’s a version of Misty? Are they part of the Unsleeping City? “Oh yes, her death, how terrible.” She’s fully acting, trying to work as much sadness as she can into her words. She also casts a subtle _Detect Thoughts_ on Niamh, though she doesn’t have time to concentrate on the results, as she frantically calculates what story to tell. “I wasn’t in attendance at the opening of _Midsummer Nights_ , I read about it in the news like everyone else. It was really quite distressing.”

Rowan sits back and closes her eyes for a second. _Detect Thoughts_ shows her that no, Niamh isn’t part of the Unsleeping City. She thinks Rowan’s acting weird, but isn’t sure what’s up. Most alarmingly, she’s thinking about Misty’s death. She knows Misty is connected to Rowan, and she wants to dig into that. Rowan suddenly realizes that this interview isn’t about her. It’s about Misty.

Rowan fakes a yawn. “It’s getting quite late, maybe we should call the interview here?” she says, working a _Suggestion_ spell into her words.

Niamh smiles sweetly, and _Detect Thoughts_ shows Rowan that the spell didn’t go through. This woman must be strong-willed. “Soon, Ms. Berry. First, do you know anything about what happened the night of Ms. Moore’s death?”

“Only what I’ve read. Misty and I hadn’t met up much in quite a while, it’s my understanding that rehearsals took up much of her time. I hadn’t heard many details of the play, and I certainly wasn’t expecting her to end up dead in her dressing room. Of course I don’t know anything about that night. It’s nothing more than a horrible mystery. We should probably stop talking so much about her,” she says, casting her best _Suggestion_ with that final sentence. 

This one seems to take hold. Niamh and Felix’s eyes glaze over slightly, and Niamh replies, “Of course, Ms. Berry.” Rowan hums affirmingly and takes a final sip of her tea. Niamh and Felix ask a few more questions about her acting career and the projects she’s working on. Rowan enthusiastically answers them, telling them all about _Luck Be A Lady_ , her gender-swapped version of _Guys and Dolls_. She could ramble about it for hours, but the reporters don’t seem very interested, and she remembers that this is not an interview about her, so she lets the topic drop. Soon the interviewers are standing up, Niamh shaking her hand and Felix waving again, and the two disappear down the hall and down the elevator.

“Alissa!” Rowan calls, sitting back down.

A few moments later, Alissa stumbles into the room. “Yes, Ms. Berry? Is everything okay?”

“Where were those reporters from?”

“I believe they were independent journalists, Ms. Berry.”

Rowan frowns. “I don’t want to hear from them again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, of course, I am so sorry, it won’t happen again.”

Rowan hums affirmatively and Alissa leaves the room.

That night, Rowan searches for any recent articles written about Misty Moore. There’s not much, but the public still has questions. The autopsy didn’t reveal Misty’s cause of death. The cast of _Midsummer Nights_ doesn’t know what happened during the final number (though Perry LaFev seems determined to insist it was part of the show). The critics gave the opening rave reviews, though of course the show had to be put on indefinite hiatus. It’s been over a year, but few questions have been answered.

If Rowan’s being honest with herself, she could have been more careful with her reincarnation, but it was a conscious choice not to. Misty has become a legend, and she loves that. New York will never stop talking about her. Rowan just wishes the questions could remain unanswered in peace. Her reincarnations have always given her a chance to do it all again, and for the first time, the legacy of her previous incarnation feels overwhelming.

She turns off her phone and rolls over in her giant bed, and falls asleep in the penthouse she’s owned longer than her body or her identity.

* * *

Rowan is at a party with a bunch of other young actors a few weeks later - she wasn’t lying about the importance of socializing. She’s let herself forget about the interview - no one else has brought up a possible connection to Misty around her, and she’s chosen to believe that it’s all fine. She has a story about her connection to Misty now, in case anyone does bring her up, but for now she doesn’t need to think about that. For now, she’s at a party, letting Rowan’s reputation build.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket. Taking it out, she sees a message from Pete. Most of his texts are awkward and occasionally a little flirty, but this one just reads: “rowan youre gonna wanna check this out lmao 👀”. Followed by a link to a YouTube video.

Rowan opens the text to see where it leads. Then she immediately leaves the party and heads home to watch the video: “The Unsolved Mystery of Misty Moore”.

* * *

“That _bitch!_ ” Rowan exclaims, slamming her hands on the table.

The Dream Team has gathered in Kingston’s apartment. They do this all the time, just to hang out, but this time is a bit different. The meeting was called by Rowan, who is now pacing around the dining room table, ranting.

“Rowan, calm down,” Kingston says.

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit lost, who’s a bitch?” Sofia asks. She got there a bit late - she’s still trying to train enough to jump over the bay from Staten Island, but for now she has to settle for the ferry.

“Alissa! Alissa fucking _sold me out_ , that fucking-”

“Rowan,” Kingston repeats, in that calm-but-authoritative voice that Rowan can’t help but to listen to. She sighs and sits down.

“She told someone about you being Misty?” Ricky asks, reaching down to pet Ox.

“No, she doesn’t know about magic, she just decided to share everything she _does_ know about me _and_ Misty, and now _I_ have to deal with that.”

“Some people made a video investigating Misty’s death, and they interviewed Alissa,” Pete explains. He’s sitting on the kitchen countertop, his mouth half full of a cinnamon roll.

“I thought that they stopped investigating her death,” Ricky says.

“So did I!” Rowan exclaims. “The authorities did, and I _thought_ the public had accepted that, but _no!_ ”

“Rowan, I told you Misty’s death was gonna arouse suspicion,” says Kingston.

“Yeah, you didn’t even tell us the show was a ritual,” Pete adds.

Kingston raises a hand. “No, I don’t want to blame Rowan, you did what you had to, Rowan. I just think we needed to be more careful with the aftermath.”

Rowan sinks lower into her chair. “No, no, you’re right. I _did_ come up with some good stories and excuses when they interviewed me! I just… didn’t prepare for it.”

Sofia gasps. “Wait, they interviewed you?”

Pete snickers. “Yeah, and it was kinda a disaster.”

“Hey!” Rowan yells.

“What, I’m just saying you weren’t prepared at all! They didn’t show the interview itself, but they had plenty of quotes, and it looks like Rowan thought it was just an interview about her, not Misty.”

“Okay, so maybe I thought they were interviewing me about my rising career and my upcoming musical! Of course I thought it was an interview just like I used to get, and maybe I was excited for a way to get attention, but I didn’t know anyone knew I was in Misty’s will! And nobody _would_ if Alissa, that _bastard_ , hadn’t snitched to them!”

“Rowan, I get your frustration, let’s try not to take it out on Alissa,” Kingston says, placing a hand on her back.

“So what happens in this video?” Sofia asks.

“Oh, it starts off as just a typical investigation. Two independent journalists got curious and decided to look into it. They just got lucky.” Rowan rolls her eyes and reaches for a cinnamon roll from the plate on the table. “They go over all the facts, everything that every paper in the world reported after the opening, nothing new. They interview Alissa, which everyone else has already done, she found my body, after all. But somehow the will got brought up, and Alissa mentioned me, and it all gets horribly inconvenient from there. She brought up how I was added to the will last minute, despite getting nearly everything, and then they decided to go interview me!”

“Did they figure anything out?”

“Of course not, it’s magic, they’re not going to break through the Umbral Arcana like _that_ . But it’s dreadful for me to have to keep all these lies up, especially when I wasn’t planning on this! No one’s ever heard of Rowan Berry before, but suddenly she’s a rising star claiming that _Misty Moore_ was her mentor.” She sighs loudly.

“Tell them about the theories,” Pete says, a mischievous smile on his face.

“Oh god,” Rowan grumbles, reaching for another cinnamon roll. “Okay, so - Kingston, you must give my compliments to your mother, these are some of her best rolls yet - okay, so like every other investigator they couldn't figure anything out, but because they found me, it wasn’t such a dead end. In place of any concrete resolution at the end of the video, they came up with these ridiculous theories, some more serious than the others.”

“Did they get close to the truth?” Ricky asks.

“Well, they talked about all of the ingredients I had set up backstage for the ritual - the holly, the sconces, all that - and joked that I might have been killed by trying to do some witchy ritual. But that wasn’t very serious, and it doesn’t involve _Rowan_ , so I’m not very worried about that.”

“ _My_ favorite theory-” Pete interjects.

“Oh no.”

“-is the one where they propose that _you_ -” - Pete hops down from the counter and points at Rowan - “are Misty Moore’s _secret daughter_.”

Ricky laughs way too loudly. Sofia almost spits out the water she was drinking. Kingston turns his laugh into a cough.

“I mean, think about it!” Pete continues. “It all checks out! Uncanny resemblance to Misty Moore - check. Mysterious connection to Misty - check. Inheriting almost everything in the will, despite never being mentioned before - check! Imagine, years ago, Misty Moore has an _illicit affair_ with a fellow cast member - or maybe the director! - of a play she’s in. She has a kid, but doesn’t want anyone to know. She raises her child secretly, but her daughter wants to follow in her footsteps. When she dies, she gives everything to her! If I didn’t know you were a reincarnating faerie, I’d be _certain_ they were right.”

“He makes a good point,” Sofia says.

“He does not!” Rowan exclaims. “And now, everyone who’s watched this video is going to go prying into my life and my connection to Misty.”

“I thought you loved attention,” Pete says with a smirk.

Rowan glares at him. “That’s different, and you know it.” _I’m not getting attention, Misty is,_ she thinks.

“Rowan, have you received any… worrying messages?” Kingston interjects.

“Not _yet_.”

“Okay, that’s good. I understand why you’re frustrated about this, but it’s not going to help you if you just panic about it.” He pauses. “Can I cast _Calm Emotions_?”

“Please.”

Warmth spreads through Rowan as Kingston pulls her into a comfortable hug. She sighs. She feels a bit better now. At least, she’s not panicking.

“Alright, Rowan, make sure to tell us if anything alarming does happen, and we’ll deal with that if it does. Stay aware, but don’t worry about it.”

“Plus, being the secret daughter of a famous Broadway star is a super cool backstory,” Pete adds.

Rowan throws the last bit of her cinnamon roll at him as she stands, and he laughs. She rolls her eyes and goes to raid the fridge.

* * *

A few weeks later, Rowan’s musical _Luck Be A Lady_ is about to open, and she is bursting with excitement. It’s her first musical (as Rowan), and she cannot wait for the world to finally see her. After a stellar preview performance, she finds herself backstage, talking to a reporter. One who actually works for a publication, and is here about the musical, and about her. She checked.

“So, _Guys and Dolls_ is this wonderful musical, truly amazing, and truly revolutionary for Broadway,” Rowan says. “The world of theatre wouldn’t be the same without it. But at the same time, it’s filled to the brim with sexism and all of these gender roles. By swapping Nathan and Adelaide’s rolls, we get to deepen the character of Adelaide and really explore her as someone who exists outside of Nathan. Plus, we get this wonderful view into 1920s New York without making it a story about sexism, which we rarely get, and it’s so wonderful to explore that world in this new context.”

Rowan sits back. She throws herself headfirst into every production, and this one is no different. She could talk about it for hours.

“That’s wonderful, Ms. Berry. May I just say, you do such a lovely job of bringing more depth to Adelaide,” says the reporter.

“Aww, thank you darling.”

“And you’re especially talented considering this is your first large-scale musical, correct?”

“Correct,” Rowan says, crossing her legs. “Of course, I’ve been acting much longer, but I don’t think we’re counting high school plays here.”

The reporter laughs politely. “Of course, I’d expect nothing less than this talent from Misty Moore’s pupil.”

Rowan smiles and laughs, though she’s screaming in her inner thoughts. Is this just going to be every interview now?

“What was your connection to her like?” the interviewer presses.

“Ah, yes, my mentor,” Rowan says, her smile feeling faker by the minute. “She really helped prepare me for the stage. I wouldn’t be here without her.” A moment’s pause. The reporter opens his mouth to ask another question. Rowan rushes in. “Now, have I talked to you about the costumes yet? Our costumers are incredible, they do this amazing job of telling the characters’ story by their clothes.” She continues rambling about the costumes, but she can feel the gap in the conversation. A faint sheen of glamour starts seeping off of the interviewer. Rowan doesn’t quite understand why, but she tries to move on.

The interview continues. The interviewer indulges Rowan for a bit, politely asking about the costumes. He continues to bring up Misty Moore - “What was she like?” “What was her mentoring like?” “How did you learn of her death?” Each time Rowan gives a brief and vague answer before badly deflecting.

Finally, the reporter gets to the heart of the matter. “So, Ms. Berry, I assume you’ve heard all of the theories about your connection to Misty Moore.”

“Yes. I have.”

“What are your thoughts on them?”

What _are_ her thoughts on them? What can she say that won’t make her entire life about Misty? 

“I mean, what is there to say? Frankly, the theories are ridiculous. I’ve opened up about my connection to Misty and I don’t see why we can’t leave it at that.” She checks her watch. “Oh my, it’s getting late, we should probably call this here.” She stands up abruptly and shakes the interviewer’s hand. “Thank you for the interview, and for enjoying the performance! I’ll be heading out now.”

As she puts on her coat and starts to leave, she sees glamour seeping off of him as he watches her leave, despite her horrible attempts at deflection. Then she realizes - it’s her obvious attempts at avoiding the subject that creates the glamour. The glamour is coming from his amazement at the mystery of Misty Moore and the enigma that is Rowan Berry. She wants to kick herself. This is the one form of attention she was trying to avoid.

She gets in a cab and starts to head home. She takes her phone out of her pocket. A few notifications show her that she’s been mentioned in a few tweets by people joking about the Misty conspiracy. She shuts her phone off, politely taps the driver on the shoulder, and redirects them to Kingston’s apartment.

* * *

A few hours later, Rowan is sitting on the couch next to Pete. He was there when she got to Kingston’s, and the three of them hung out playing cards for a bit. Eventually, Kingston left to go work a late shift, but let Rowan and Pete stay. Now, the two of them are spread out on the couch, looking through giant windows overlooking the city, a soft jazz record playing quietly. Rowan is drinking some wine and being uncharacteristically quiet. Pete, who’s been trying to drink less, is sucking on a juice box.

“So, what’s up?” Pete finally says.

“It’s the conspiracies,” Rowan sighs. “They’re starting back up again. They even got brought up during my interview today.”

“Are you worried about being found out? I mean, how would that even work with the Umbral Arcana?”

“Who knows. Honestly, no matter what the wizards at the Occult Society tell you, magic is an art as much as it is a science. Maybe they’d somehow break through and figure out who I am. Or... maybe they wouldn’t, but they’d just keep digging.” Silence.

“I don’t really get why you don’t want the attention. I was being honest when I said that the idea of being Misty’s secret daughter is a really cool backstory. Honestly, the mystery just makes you cooler.”

“I know,” Rowan grumbles. “I can feel it. It would be so easy for me to ride that video all the way to the top, the mystery of Misty propelling me to fame. But… I want everyone to _shut up_ about Misty for once.”

Pete raises an eyebrow. “I thought you loved being Misty,” he says, a little incredulous.

“I did! I _loved_ being Misty, she was so amazing. But that’s not who I am anymore. I mean, I’m her reincarnation, but I’m not Misty. I want attention, yes. I don’t want to be famous because of my vague connection to someone else. I want to be famous because I’ve _earned it_ . Because I’ve reached people, because I’ve put on a spectacular show and made them feel things.” She takes a sip of her wine. “I forgot about how _annoying_ the paparazzi was at the start of a reincarnation. There are so many _questions_. I was never questioned as Misty. That’s what happens when you’re old and famous and no one can tell you what to do. But I forgot how rough the start of a reincarnation is. Or maybe it was just easier in the 50s, before the internet. I hate having to choose every word I say in order to control how they see me. I could just be mysterious and let them all wonder about me and Misty, but I don’t want my life to be about her. I reincarnated. I don’t want them to see her when they look at me.”

Pete sits in silence for a moment, and Rowan realizes that she’s maybe never been that open about how she’s feeling. Pete breaks the silence by taking the world’s longest sip of his juice box.

“Then try leaning into it,” he finally suggests.

Rowan laughs and raises an eyebrow. “Weren’t you listening?”

“No, I don’t mean lean into the _mystery_. I mean, like, joke about the theories and the video. Post about it on Twitter. Don’t be mysterious about it. Don’t pretend it could be true. If you do that, people will take it less seriously. That way, when you choose what they see of you, you don’t have to hide as much. I mean, you don’t have to tell them you’re a faerie, but hey, you don’t have to pretend people aren’t talking about that video. Like it or not, what people see is part of you.”

Rowan grumbles under her breath.

“Yeah,” Pete says. “It fucking sucks. But you can still control how they see you. But you have to accept that you’re being seen. This video is something that happened to Rowan, and it’s a part of her, and to make it past it, you have to accept that. Once you let it be a part of your past, everyone will start seeing you as Rowan.”

Rowan lets that sit for a moment. The only sound is the faint cracking of the vinyl record and Pete taking a final sip of his juice box.

“Why do _you_ have this… really thoughtful advice?”

Pete shrugs. “I have a lot of experience trying to control how I’m seen. Just… ask yourself who _you_ are, in _this_ moment.”

Rowan’s mind is honestly reeling a bit. She was _not_ expecting to get a revelation about the nature of her life from _Pete_. “Alright… I’m Rowan Berry and I’m a reincarnating faerie, but… I’m also a fucking talented Broadway star, and I can just… let myself be that, devoid of magical context.”

“Hell yeah.”

They sit in silence for another moment, looking other the city. Rowan slightly raises her hand, and after a moment, Pete high-fives her. A moment passes. Then she pulls him into a tight hug. It’s awkward, but Rowan knows it’s genuine from both of them. 

“Alright, I should probably go, I have a dress rehearsal in the morning,” Rowan says, standing up and starting to walk to the door. “Thank you for the advice. It… meant a lot to me.”

“Yeah, no problem, anytime. Glad I could help.”

“Night,” Rowan says, raising her hand and giving him a small wave. Then she opens the door, and Rowan Berry walks off into the night.


End file.
